Prix de Lieurey: Oscula all heart to win Deauville Group Three for George Boughey and Nick Bradley | Racing News

Oscula’s superb season continued at Deauville on Monday as she landed the Group Three Prix de Lieurey.

The filly is a model of consistency for trainer George Boughey and owners Nick Bradley Racing, coming home in the first three in 14 of her 18 career starts.

A Group Three winner at Deauville as a two-year-old when taking the Prix Six Perfections, the daughter of Galileo Gold got her term under way this year when second to Ever Given in the Listed Surrey Stakes at Epsom.

A winner at the same level in the Eternal Stakes at Carlisle, two further Listed placings followed before she lost out by just a nose to Jumbly in the Group Three Valiant Stakes at Ascot in July.

Redemption was around the corner at Glorious Goodwood, with the bay a Group Three winner once more when landing the Oak Tree Stakes from Internationalangel.

Though luckless last time out in the Dick Hern Stakes at Haydock when fourth, Oscula dusted herself off to produce another Group-winning performance when prevailing by a neck under Ryan Moore at the Normandy track.

“It was a great performance, I knew today would suit her – slowly-run race, running round a bend,” Bradley said. “It’s about who has got the most guts and who has got the most speed at the end of a race and nine times out of 10, it’s her.

“You could buy a thousand horses and not get one with the heart that she’s got.

“Ryan’s job was so easy, she was exactly where we wanted her to be and she just outbattles them. She’s got so much fight.

“I’ve run her seven times over the past months, she’s won three times, the only time she didn’t come in the top three was last week when things just didn’t go her way. She’s an absolute superstar.”

Further big assignments await Oscula before the end of the term, with the Group One Prix de la Foret at Longchamp on Arc day the ultimate aim.

“I’ve got an eight-hour drive home coming up, I will be thinking on the way home,” said Bradley. “There are races like the Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster coming up, there are races at Goodwood and Newmarket.

“I’ll probably run her three or four times before the end of the year and the Foret is the aim – the Foret will be her Derby.”

‘Best yet to come’ from Al Hakeem

Elsewhere on the card, there was disappointment for Boughey when his Royal Ascot winner Missed The Cut was well beaten in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano, which went the way of the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained Al Hakeem.

Bookmakers trimmed the Al Shaqab-owned Al Hakeem for the Arc and Rouget suggested that could be the next outing for his colt, who was fourth to stablemate Vadeni in the Prix du Jockey Club.

Rouget told Sky Sports Racing: “He is a Group One horse. In the Jockey Club it was not easy and Vadeni couldn’t be beaten. He will win a Group One one day!

“He is quite a backward horse, but strong and tall. The best is yet to come.

“He is one to stay a mile-and-a-half and he could run in the Arc straight away. I’m not alone to decide.”